NorthStar Community Daily Devotional

Having a Heart in a Sometimes Heartless World

Day 225 – Week 33 – True greatness

Scripture focus: In the same way that you gave me [Jesus] a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world. John 17:18 The Message

Jesus’ mission was great – and it changed the world. Jesus says he’s given us a mission, too. Do you feel like you have a great mission in this life? I read this devotional by Jason Gray (“Finding Your Calling in a Cup of Coffee”), and I think he speaks more articulately about greatness than I ever could – so enjoy!

Whenever I’m in Seattle I make it a point to visit Espresso Vivace, my favorite coffee shop in the world. For me, it captures the simultaneously rogue and refined spirit of the Seattle zeitgeist, and though it’s kind of a frou-frou drink, my regular there is a little concoction of love and happiness called the White Velvet. They top it off with foam art that looks like a leaf or even a heart, which is appropriate since there’s a lot of love in that cup.

We first heard about Espresso Vivace when National Geographic rated it “Best of the City” in Seattle, and we’ve made it a priority to stop every time we’re in town. During one of my last visits there, I was reading the articles posted on the wall and saw a write-up about the many ventures of Vivace’s entrepreneurial founder, David Schomer. After years of mixed results working as an engineer for Boeing, a meteorologist and a musician, the article proclaimed he finally “found his calling” with his coffee roasting business, and offered up the story of Espresso Vivace’s success as proof. It got me thinking about the ways we tend to measure success.

I understand what the writer is getting at, and I even agree with it for the most part. Author Frederick Buechner offers the beautiful thought that our calling is where our “great joy and the world’s deep hunger meet,” which is literally true in Schomer’s case if you swap out the word “hunger” for “thirst” as his personal passion for coffee converged with the burgeoning coffee industry of the late ’80s.

But still, I was troubled by the words “found his calling,” and they stuck with me long after the delectable aftertaste of my White Velvet faded. It made me think of how uncomfortable our culture is with the idea of a true calling that doesn’t produce “success.” Even as Christians, we tend to interpret measurable success as a sign of God’s stamp of approval.

If that is all there is to it, then a lot of us are in big trouble. In my work, I’m exposed to many different ministries as I’ve played in mega churches as well as churches so small I’m amazed they keep it going. Now, I don’t mean this in any way to knock big ministries—many of them are invaluable to the Kingdom—but I can honestly say that more often than not the smaller and seemingly “insignificant” ministries are led by some of the greatest and sharpest people I know. Many of them are discouraged and dogged by a sense of failure since they don’t have the numbers that most use to measure the “success” of a ministry.

I have observed, though, that it’s their very smallness that makes them so deft, crucial and able to get to the heart of things. They have less to lose by telling a hard truth. Their size is conducive to a kind of intimacy that allows them to get inside the tiny crawl spaces of the human heart and speak to the secret motivations, shame and fears that hide there. Small ministries are God’s fine instruments, cutting and mending with laser-like precision.

Ever notice that Jesus continually resisted the worldly paradigm of success? Whenever his following would swell, he would pare it down by saying startling things like “eat my flesh” and “drink my blood.” By conventional standards he wasn’t a very “successful” evangelist, healer or even teacher (most were bewildered when he would speak).

The Bible’s greatest stories are cast with unlikely characters who descended to greatness. The book of Hebrews features a roll call of faithful heroes who never saw the successful consummation of all they believed for. It’s clear that God’s Word rejects the idea of measuring success solely by numbers, popularity or even the achievement of a desired end. Instead, scriptural success is defined by one thing: faithfulness.

You may “find your calling” and discover that your calling is to fail: to give to those who only take, to speak to those who will not hear, to love those who won’t know how to receive your love. You may find that your calling will daily break your heart and leave you feeling like you’re holding back the darkness with a tattered book of matches. You may find that you are called to join what J.R.R. Tolkien called “the long defeat,” to fight with no assurance of winning, but to fight nonetheless.

I think of Dr. Paul Farmer in Haiti who serves the poorest of the poor against a rising tide of poverty. I think of my friend, Thulani, who labors for the growing number of AIDS orphans as director of World Vision ministries in troubled Zimbabwe. I think of my parents whose ministry is the last stop for many people who have slipped through the cracks. These kinds of callings aren’t likely to produce bestselling books or poster children for the American dream, but they are inspiring examples of faithful perseverance in the face of a losing battle. They remind us that there is more to existence than the constant striving for material success.

I know this all seems worlds away from the front door of Espresso Vivace, but there is a parallel, however modest. Upon further reflection, I wonder if maybe the article is right about Schomer finding his true calling. There are only three Vivace locations, after all, and it is his passion for his “calling” that insures he’ll never be a threat to coffee behemoths like Starbucks. The passion for success is often at odds with the passion for faithfulness, and Schomer’s passion for the perfect shot of espresso will most likely limit his business.

I’m grateful for this, and I thank God for my white velvet mocha and all that it symbolizes: that the pursuit of worldly success is like chasing the wind, and the monuments and castles of this kingdom are made of sand. It reminds me that there is another Kingdom whose citizens understand that our truest calling is to be faithful to the passion we are entrusted with, and that faithfulness is the better measure of success.

That may be a lot to ask of a cup of coffee, but again, even the smallest things can carry great meaning if invested with passionate faithfulness.

Recommended reading: Nehemiah 4, 5 in the morning; Psalm 32, Proverbs 22 in the evening

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